OUTLINE
0:00 - 0:30 - Introduction to the show and focus on money, mindset, and confidence.
0:30 - 7:00 - Personal story of overcoming hip surgery and rediscovering running, forming a supportive running group.
7:00 - 11:00 - Running as an outlet for decompression, stress relief, and personal growth.
11:00 - 19:00 - Completing a 50km Ultra Trail marathon, lessons from running applied to business and life.
19:00 - 20:00 - Closing remarks, invitation to engage, and resources.
THE ERIN DAVIS SHOW
It's the new financial year here and while I am all about the money and the numbers, it’s also a very special time for me for some different reasons. It was about 12 years ago, when I had a fall, which ended up leading to some hip problems. I ended up needing to have a hip replacement 3 years after that fall. So 9 years ago, I had a hip replacement. And my whole world changed.
And the reason why I'm sharing this is because it really changed the whole outlook that I had - on the way that I showed up as a mum, the way that I showed up in my work at that stage (I didn't have a business, I was working full time as an accountant). And it really just impacted my whole world.
I was told at that time that I would never run again. And I don't know about you, but when I'm told that I can't do something, or I can't have something, it makes it even more desirable or more like you want it. And that's how I felt about running.
At that stage, I really wasn't running a whole lot. I used to run at school and do all the school carnivals and cross country and athletics. But during my late teenage years and early 20s, even past that into my 30s, I really wasn't doing much running at all. But to be told that I couldn't run any more really just devastated me.
I don't know how long after my hip replacement it was that I started running with my sister because she was running. And I love that we get to do things together so I tagged along. Then I don't really know how it progressed from there. But we just kept showing up, weekend after weekend, we would do some running. We’d do parkrun. We started with parkrun, which if you haven't started parkrun, it's a brilliant event. And I just love it.
We started to do some more running. And I know that my confidence had really taken a beating after having the hip replacement. I struggled to walk for the 3 years leading up to the replacement. I was in a lot of pain every day and everyday movements were really hard. So to be able to put myself back out there and do something that was hard and challenging, was really quite difficult for me to do. Though I I loved it. I loved running and I loved being in that space where I could just forget about the world and forget about everything else and just run. I was getting dopamine hits with all those beautiful endorphins running through my body.
But the best part about running for me was we formed a running group. It was a group of like minded women. There was one lady that was the connection between all of us and there were seven or eight of us I can't remember. But we all have this common goal and we all have this common thought of being out there exercising. We talked running, we talked activewear, we talked diet, we talked about which runs we're going to do, no it's too cold, it's raining, or yes, it's raining, let's go. And the community that we built within that little group really did inspire me to keep going and to keep pushing and to keep moving. And when you show up every day, when you're in pain it is really hard. And it's really challenging. And what I've come to learn is that the more that you push yourself and challenge yourself to do things that you didn't think you could do, the more satisfied and the more you feel that big sense of achievement when you do it - when you achieve something that you've never done before.
We started running, and I know this is a money mindset and confidence podcast. However, the confidence piece for me, translates into every aspect of my life. So to be able to show up as a runner, which I never called myself a runner because I didn't think I was good enough to be called a runner. But I am, I'm a runner, I love to run, I run, so I am a runner. But the confidence piece comes from doing the things that you love to do and challenging yourself. Doing things that you never thought you could do and pushing yourself forward into a space, which is really hard. And it's really challenging.
So, for me, running has allowed me to decompress after a really hard day with the kids or at work or feeling frustrated in my business. Because let's face it, we all feel that frustration at times. I was feeling like I was getting stuck in that space of the merry go round, the day to day that everything that just keeps happening and happening and happening.
But I didn't like that. And I didn't like that space. So running provided that outlet for me to be able to really decompress and de-stress and show up as my best self because I found that when I wasn't active or when I wasn't looking after myself or moving my body, I have this buildup of stress. I also have a buildup of worry and anxiety within me and it doesn't matter who's around me, everybody seems to cop it. And I don't do that on purpose or intentionally. However, as a mum and as a business woman and as a person responsible for a lot of moving parts every day, it was all getting too much. So running was my outlet. It was the space that allowed me to really step into myself and just find who I was.
The thing about running that I love the most is trail running. For me, it's being out in the bush. It’s reconnecting to nature. It's stopping and taking lots of photos. It's listening to the birds and the trees and the wind in the trees. It's feeling the rain, or the cold morning mist. Because when we start it's freezing cold, we usually see the sunrise because we tend to go in the morning. So we're seeing the sunrise. And that crisp morning when the sun comes up is such a beautiful, special time.
So that has been really the thing that has kept me going and has been the thing that has enabled me to continue on and continue in a space where I have felt really challenged and out of my depth.
And the more that I step into those hard and challenging spaces, the more I realise that I need to come back to that grounding, come back to those grassroots and do the things that really light me up. So running has provided that confidence boost and is that space where I need to be to be able to show up as my best self.
Running has also provided me with the opportunity to challenge myself in ways that I never ever thought were possible. I have completed two Ultra Trail marathons in the Blue Mountains which are very, very hilly, the elevation is ridiculous. And they were 50 kilometers events. The first event I did was my very first ever event that I have ever done. And I chose to do 50 kilometers. I don't know if I was stupid or crazy, but I did it anyway. And the girls that I go running with, we all did it together. We would be training every weekend. We would be doing long runs. We would be talking and chatting and connecting and engaging. And that in itself was so valuable because we all needed that outlet. We all had this common goal that we wanted to achieve. We all ran our own race that day and I was the slowest by far. All the other girls had finished. And I completed the race in 11 hours, and four minutes and seven seconds. That day, it was bitterly cold. The wind chill factor was minus three or four, it was sleeting, it was raining, I was frozen to the bone, I could hardly run.
And remember, this is after having a hip replacement. So I was probably about six years post operative. So six years post hip replacement, and I was running 50 kilometers, I didn't run the whole 50 kilometers. That's the beauty about trail running. There's a lot of walking in there. But I was out on my feet moving for over 11 hours. I crossed that finish line. And I was just such an emotional wreck. But I believe it was because of the sense of completion.
When I was out there during that day, there were a lot of sections of the run, where I was running by myself. There was nobody else around me and I was hoping I was going in the right direction. But I didn't know because nobody was there. I was talking to myself because I was trying to fill the time and what else do you do? But not once did I ever consider stopping. Not once did I ever think about giving up and not once did I ever feel like I couldn't do it. It was literally me just talking to myself putting one foot in front of the other. That's all I needed to do - just one foot in front of the other.
There’s power in that self-talk, that belief in yourself to be able to do something and keep doing something even if it's hard and even if it's challenging. So while I was shuffling and moving very slowly, all my friends had finished. I was still going. And I didn't compare myself to anybody else. The running community is such a beautiful community that everybody just cheese each other on. You wear your race bib on the front of your body, which has your name on it and when you're running past complete strangers, and they’re yelling your name encouraging you, supporting you and telling you to keep going. Those people who are doing that are such powerful motivators.
But really the motivation needed to come from within. It was up to me to take the action. It was up to me to choose to do the training in the months leading up to it because 50 kilometres, let's face it, it's not just a walk in the park, there is training required. So I needed to be committed to taking the action and committed to showing up every weekend.
But I also needed to be able to keep showing up even when it was hard. And I have this thing with running that I say to my running buddies, I never feel strong, or I never feel like I'm doing it. Or I'm uncomfortable doing it. Which is really hard when you're out there. When you're struggling and you're seeing other people they're powering on and they're doing what they need to do. But the most important thing to remember is that it's your race, and it's you doing your own thing.
It's easy to compare yourself to other people out there. And it's easy to compare yourself to complete strangers that you have no idea about. However you need to stay in your own lane. You need to stay in that space where you just keep showing up for you. You keep putting one foot in front of the other. You know what you want to achieve and you just take those actions that 1% each time you go further to better yourself. And that's literally what I did. It was one foot in front of the other and I kept showing up. I never doubted myself, even though I had never done it before. And I did it, I got it done and that crossing that finish line I hugged the volunteer I burst into tears. I squeezed her so tight out of such relief because I had finished this race. The emotions pouring out of me were just so big and like nothing I had ever felt before. Because I don't think I have ever achieved anything like that. That was big and that I never thought I would be able to do. So it was such a huge sense of relief.
And reflecting on those moments in that race, I still have a smile on my face. To know that I actually did it. And I completed it. I completed that challenge. And because I had the best time, I actually went back and did it another year, the year after. And this time I did it all by myself. My running friends had said no, that's it. I'm not doing it again. A few of them had already done it previously. So they were they were like, Yep, no, we don't need to do it again.
But I wanted to. So I did. And I showed up at the start line by myself, which was even more petrifying, I think, than the first one. I think the first one I was going in a bit blind and a bit oblivious to what it actually was. The second time around, I knew what I was in for. But I still showed up anyway but this one I trained differently. I felt stronger and I felt fitter. I felt like I was in control. I finished the race quicker by an hour. But I also got stopped in a bottleneck for over an hour. So taking into account the bottleneck, I could have finished like two hours earlier than what I had in my compared to the first race. I just wanted to beat my time for the first time. But in running, we say it's finished lines, not finished times.
I think that that's really important in business as well. Because it's about continuously showing up. It's about taking the action. But most importantly, it's about having the confidence within yourself to be able to believe in yourself wholeheartedly and know that this is what you need to do. That this is the path you're on, even if it feels hard and even if it feels challenging, which is just such a powerful space to be in. But it can also be really scary and it can be really lonely. So that's why it's important to have a community around you. Whether that's a business coach, a mindset coach, a business accountability coach, a business community - there's different people there for different reasons.
The way that I like to work with my clients is that I am there and I am supporting them. And I’m their biggest cheerleader because I know what it feels like to be in that space where you don't know what to do or you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. But you're not prepared to give up, you just need some help and some direction and a plan to move forward. And that's what I love about the work that I do empowering women to feel confident with their money. They grow their money, they grow their confidence. And it empowers them to do things and have a challenge which they never thought that they could do.
So I love running. For me it is that outlet. It is the space where I need to be to be able to ground myself and think. But it has also taught me a lot of lessons which I bring into my business world and bring into my mum world, bring into my friends world. And that's about never giving up. It's about having that vision of what you want things to look like. It's about being committed to the hard times, even when you can't see your way out. But it's also about relying on others to support you when you need that support.
So I love to work with clients in this space. That is my passion to empower women to be in control of their money and grow their confidence. And just like running, it’s about one foot in front of the other. It's becoming 1% better than what you were yesterday.
It's about doing things that you didn't think you could do. And it's about making a change that your future self will love you for because I can guarantee you, when you cross that finish line the elation that you’ll feel and the relief as well will be nothing like you've ever felt before.
Thanks for tuning in today. I really hope you enjoyed the show. If you did, head over and subscribe, and also leave me a review while you're there. I would love to read it. Don't forget to share this episode with your audience and tag me on Instagram. right at Erin Davis underscore transform. If you need any more info from today's show, head over to Aaron davis.com.au forward slash podcast, where you'll find all of today's show notes and links. See you next week on the Erin Davis show
